UTSA Roadrunners (20-18, 13-8 SLC) at Texas State Bobcats (26-12, 14-4 SLC)
Friday, April 10 ? 5/7 p.m. | Saturday, April 11 ? noon
Bobcat Field (1,000) ? San Marcos, Texas
Series History: Texas State leads, 32-27
Last Meeting: Texas State, 4-0 (April 5, 2008)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (20-18, 13-8 SLC) returns to the road with athree-game Southland Conference series at Texas State (26-12, 14-4 SLC)this Friday-Saturday, April 10-11. First pitch in a Friday doubleheaderis slated for 5 p.m. at the newly-renovated Bobcat Field followed by asingle game at noon Saturday.
On The Web: UTSA will provide live stats and audio for both games at goUTSA.com courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.
Base Hits:
? Texas State leads the all-time series against UTSA, 32-27, and has won seven of the past eight meetings, including nine straight Southland Conference regular season games
? The Bobcats hold an 18-6 advantage in San Marcos and the Roadrunners’ last win at Bobcat Field was a 3-2 decision in the CenturyTel Classic on Feb. 9, 2007
? UTSA has won 12 of its past 14 league series, including six of seven this season
? The Roadrunners are 12-1 when they score five or more runs and 15-2 when leading after five innings
? Senior Leanne Risberg is tied for eighth on the school’s career home runs chart with 30 and she ranks seventh with 54 extra-base hits
? Junior Rudi Cantu ranks second in UTSA annals with six career triples, one shy of Shannon Steadman’s school record set from 1993-96 ... Cantu also is third with 34 career stolen bases, 14 behind Steadman’s standard of 48
? Junior Kelly Cato (Feb. 24) and freshman Amber Anderson (Feb. 10) have earned SLC Hitter of the Week honors this season
? Fourth-year head coach Lori Cook picked up win No. 100 for her UTSA career in an 8-5 victory against UT Arlington on March 16
Last Time Out: UTSA won its fourth straight Southland Conference series by taking two of three one-run games from Nicholls at home last weekend. The Roadrunners opened the set with a 3-2 victory behind freshman Ashley Kappler’s RBI-single in the fifth inning. The Colonels grabbed game two, 2-1, behind Audrey Wood’s solo home run in the eighth, while UTSA returned the favor on Sunday in an extra-inning thriller, as freshman Amber Anderson singled home junior Rudi Cantu in the 11th to clinch a 3-2 win.
UTSA/Texas State Series History: The Bobcats lead the all-time series against UTSA, 32-27, and have won seven of the past eight meetings, including nine straight Southland Conference regular season contests. Texas State holds an 18-6 advantage in games played in San Marcos and the Roadrunners’ last win was a 3-2 decision in the CenturyTel Classic on Feb. 9, 2007.
Scouting Texas State: The Bobcats improved to 26-12 on the season with a 2-0 victory at Baylor on Tuesday night. Texas State is in first place in the Southland Conference with a 14-4 ledger, but has not played a league game since a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas on March 22 Freshman Chandler Hall is one of the league’s top dual threats with a team-best .320 batting average and a 17-6 record, 1.62 ERA and 127 strikeouts in the circle. Head coach Ricci Woodard is 327-177-1 in her ninth season at the helm.
Major Milestones: UTSA picked up victory No. 500 for the program in an 8-0 run-ruling at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 24. The Roadrunners now own an all-time record of 513-426-2. Additionally, fourth-year head coach Lori Cook earned win No. 100 with an 8-5 victory over UT Arlington on March 15. She now totes a UTSA career record of 109-88, including a 73-35 (.676) mark in Southland Conference games.
Working Overtime: UTSA has played seven extra-inning games this season and is 3-4 in those contests. The Roadrunners opened the season with a 4-3 loss to Tulsa in eight frames at the Aggie Classic, but outlasted Northwestern State, 2-1, in eight in the final game of the Getterman Classic the following weekend. Senior Leanne Risberg’s walk-off grand slam in the eighth lifted the Roadrunners to a 10-6 win over Sam Houston State on March 1, and UT Arlington edged UTSA, 5-3, in nine innings on March 15. On March 24, UTEP edged UTSA, 2-1, in eight frames. The Roadrunners have played two consecutive extra-inning affairs, as Nicholls used an Audrey Wood homer in the eighth for a 3-2 victory on April 4, while freshman Amber Anderson singled home junior Rudi Cantu with the winning run in a 3-2, 11-inning win on April 5.
SLC Accolades: Two Roadrunners have earned Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors in the first three weeks of the season. On Feb. 10, freshman Amber Anderson picked up the award after batting .588 with 10 hits, three runs, two doubles, a pair of home runs, five RBIs, a 1.059 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage in the Aggie Classic on Feb. 6-8. On Feb. 24, junior Kelly Cato collected weekly accolades after batting .833 (5-for-6) with two home runs and six RBIs in the North Texas doubleheader on Feb. 10.
Senior Standout: UTSA’s lone senior ? Leanne Risberg ? has heated up at the plate over the past 10 contests. The New Orleans, La., native is batting .400 with two home runs and six RBIs and has recorded a hit in nine of the last 10 games. For the season, the right fielder is hitting .307 with a team-best five round-trippers and 19 RBIs, including .323 with all five homers and 15 RBIs in league play. She is tied for eighth place on UTSA’s career home runs chart with 30 and tied for seventh with 54 extra-base hits. Her 94 RBIs are just five shy of the top 10 list.
Alvin Express: A pair of Roadrunners ? junior Rudi Cantu and freshman Amber Anderson ? hail from Alvin, Texas, the hometown of Nolan Ryan. Cantu has been named all-conference in each of her first two seasons with the program, including first-team accolades at second base last year. Cantu, a preseason first-team All-SLC pick who is hitting .317 with 15 stolen bases (on 16 attempts), is tied for second on UTSA’s career triples list with six and ranks third with 34 stolen bases. Anderson helped guide Alvin to the Class 5A State Championship last season, earning all-state and state tournament MVP honors. She is batting .313 with eight doubles, three home runs and 22 RBIs and was tabbed SLC Hitter of the Week on Feb. 10.
Brazoswood Buddies: Three of UTSA’s four starting infielders all hail from Brazoswood High School, located in Clute, Texas. Junior shortstop Kelly Cato and sisters Kristin, a sophomore third baseman, and Ashley, a freshman second baseman, Kappler all played for the Buccaneers, a traditionally-strong prep program.
Dual Threats: UTSA has several players who can contribute at the plate and in the circle, beginning with sophomore Dany? Holmes. The Sugar Land native became the first player in school history to earn all-conference honors at two different positions in the same season when she was named second team at pitcher and third team at designated player. Holmes is batting .312 with three home runs and 13 RBIs and in the circle she owns a 7-7 record, 2.18 ERA, two shutouts and 81 strikeouts in 93 innings. In fact, UTSA boasts four pitchers who also will see time at the plate. Sophomore Emily Humpal, a Corpus Christi native who transferred after her freshman season at Creighton, totes a 2.72 ERA, 11-8 record, one save and 85 strikeouts in 126.1 frames. Freshman Amber Anderson has pitched in eight games and is one of the team’s leading hitter with her .313 batting average, while freshman Morgan Luksa owns a 1-0 record, 4.20 ERA and 10 strikeouts against only three walks in seven appearances and has started six games at designated player and one in left field.
SLC Preseason Polls: UTSA was picked to finish third in the Southland Conference Preseason Polls by both the head coaches and sports information directors. The Roadrunners picked up one first-place vote and tallied 90 points in the coaches’ poll for third behind preseason favorite and defending SLC Tournament Champion Stephen F. Austin and defending regular season champ Texas State. UTSA garnered a pair of first-place votes and 84 total points in the SIDs’ poll for third behind SFA and Texas State.
Trio Named To Preseason All-SLC Team: Junior Rudi Cantu was named to the Southland Conference Preseason First Team at second base, while senior outfielder Leanne Risberg and sophomore pitcher/designated player Dany? Holmes were second-team selections.
Head Coach Lori Cook: Head coach Lori Cook is in her fourth season at the helm of the program and is in her ninth year overall in the Alamo City. In her three-plus seasons as the third head coach in school history, Cook has posted a 109-88 record (.553), including a 73-35 (.676) mark in Southland Conference play. Under her direction, UTSA has won at least 18 conference games and finished in the top three in the league standings each season, captured one SLC regular season and one tournament crown and made one NCAA Tournament appearance. Fifteen Roadrunners have combined to earn 20 All-SLC accolades during her head coaching tenure. Prior to her promotion to head coach in September 2005, Cook spent one season as associate head coach after serving as assistant coach for three seasons and a volunteer assistant in 2001, all under Corrie Hill. A native of Napa, Calif., Cook also has coached at Baylor (1999-2000), Cosumnes River College (1996-98), Peanut (Italy) Softball Club (1995-96), Napa Valley College (1991-95), Cal State Hayward (1990-91). She played two seasons at Napa Valley College before finishing her collegiate career at Nebraska in 1989-90. Cook also played professionally overseas for Ronchi dei Legionari (Italy) in 1992.
Next Up: UTSA will step out of conference play for six games, beginning with a doubleheader at Houston Baptist next Wednesday, April 15, followed by a three-game home series against Cal State Bakersfield next Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19, and a road date with Baylor on April 21.
